17^th February, 2002
Rd1

Luff skirts race 3 pile-up to boost lead

SYDNEY driver Warren Luff emerged a winner again today, in a dramatic third leg of the opening round of the 2002 V8 BRute Muster series on the Adelaide Parklands temporary street circuit.

Luff led from the start in his Holden Commodore ute, but the race was stopped by officials after a five-car, 200 kmh pile-up on the fourth of six scheduled laps.

No one was injured seriously in the crash, which happened at the turn eight sweeper when Garry Holt (Commodore) hit the safety barrier and was followed into the melee by Jim Cornish (Falcon), Ross Almond (Falcon), Jack Elsegood (Falcon) and Dean Canto (Falcon).

Several cars were destroyed. Stewards investigated the crash and decided it was a racing incident.

Luff's win, his second for the weekend, consolidated his championship lead over Nilsson Motorsport teammate Mick Donaher, who drove a Falcon.

Damien White struggled with gearbox problems in his Falcon, but still managed to set the fastest lap time on his way to third place.

Among other notable performers was two-time Bathurst winner - but V8 BRute newcomer - Alan Grice, who finished seventh today and sixth overall in the pointscore.

Grice, 59, retired last year after nine years as a Member of Parliament in Queensland and said he had joined the V8 BRute Muster series to recapture the fun of motor racing.

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